ABOVE: Regular blood pressure tests preserve life. A good quality blood pressure monitor can be purchased from between $75 - $150

﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿LEFT & ABOVE:Respite Now can deliver medications & most of your pharmacy needs without you having to drive and wait. If you want to help senior family members remain fit and healthy, monitoring their blood pressure is a great starting point. New studies show that maintaining a regular check on your blood pressure can help keep people's health at its optimum. A blood pressure testing kit is available from most pharmacists for around $75 to $150. Keeping it visible in the family room helps to remind you and your loved one to do checks (at least once a week if their general health is good). Blood pressure is a leading indicator of what's actually going on in other parts of the body and a rise or drop in pressure often provides a warning that something else needs looking at. Ask you doctor next time you are there to write down your ideal blood pressure and keep it stuck on the fridge or somewhere handy. It's a fun way to spend an evening, playing doctors and nurses.

﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿Managing medication can become time consuming and if concentration is lost, dangerous. Having a chat to ﻿your local pharmacist to see what sort of processes they have available to help with medication means that even if you need to switch environments suddenly, like visiting family or a trip to hospital you can be confident that all will be well.

﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿If you need to take medication with you when leaving the house, it's good to have procedures in place for your medication regime. Routine change has been identified as a leading cause of medication misadventure and missing or upsetting your dose may cause unwanted side effects.